Gennaro Gattuso was irritated at officials after Milan lost the Supercoppa to Juventus and insisted Gonzalo Higuain had a fever, but wouldn’t discuss the Chelsea rumours.
Cristiano Ronaldo got the only goal in Jeddah with a glancing header, although Franck Kessie was later sent off via a VAR review for his stamp on Emre Can.
“We have to compliment the team, as I said in the Press conference we had to climb a mountain and we tried,” the Coach told Rai Sport.
Gennaro Gattuso was irritated at officials after Milan lost the Supercoppa to Juventus and insisted Gonzalo Higuain had a fever, but wouldn’t discuss the Chelsea rumours.
Cristiano Ronaldo got the only goal in Jeddah with a glancing header, although Franck Kessie was later sent off via a VAR review for his stamp on Emre Can.
“We have to compliment the team, as I said in the Press conference we had to climb a mountain and we tried,” the Coach told Rai Sport.
“It’s not up to me to judge the incidents. I admit Kessie’s red card was fair. My only concern is the use of technology, as we had a tight offside call and the flag went up. Juve scored two goals and one was disallowed for offside, because they allowed it to continue and made the decision afterwards. That’s what annoys me.
“The team showed character today, fought hard against a great opponent. Now we are without two players against Genoa. The performance remains, but there are always regrets when losing a Final.”
Kessie and Davide Calabria are suspended for Monday's Serie A match against Genoa.
Higuain was not in the starting XI, officially because of a fever, but many saw it as an excuse to disguise his imminent transfer to Chelsea.
“He’s unlucky at the moment. He had a fever last night, we did everything to get him better, but he didn’t play much, so I preferred a fresher player.
“It might seem like a joke, but honestly, it’s true! Higuain wasn’t in the picture when the Saudi Prince came to visit because I was afraid the virus would spread among the other players, so that was my decision.”
Gattuso was asked if this was Higuain’s last appearance in a Milan jersey.
“I’ve got a burning inside me, we have 25 players, so let’s not talk about this now. We lick our wounds and will see what happens tomorrow.”